Sources: Walsh weighs future

Montana Sen. John Walsh is engaged in internal deliberations with his political team about whether to stay on the ballot this year, sources said Tuesday, in the wake of a plagiarism scandal that has tarnished the appointed Democratic lawmaker’s standing.

Senate Democratic leaders in Washington and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are not playing an active role in the discussions, allowing the situation to be sorted out between Walsh and his Montana Democratic colleagues, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks come ahead of a key deadline on Monday, the last day for a candidate to withdraw from the race.

Story Continued Below

Fueling speculation that he might quit the race, Walsh’s campaign canceled several events slated for this week, including a Tuesday evening fundraiser in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. But based on interviews earlier Tuesday with a number of Montana Democrats, most of whom spoke anonymously to discuss the situation candidly, it was far from clear what Walsh was going to do.

“It’s going to be up to him to figure out what he thinks is best,” one Democratic source said.

When asked whether Walsh would definitely stay in the race, campaign spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua would only say in an email, “We’re not going to comment on rumors.” A DSCC official pointed to an earlier statement saying that the committee is “100 percent behind Walsh.”

If Walsh stepped aside before Monday, the Montana Democratic Party would have to choose a replacement candidate no later than Aug. 20.

Another Democratic source said Walsh has been resistant to stepping down, and some expect he can weather the political storm by pointing to his long military record. But some top Democrats in the state fear that his remaining a candidate will cost them dearly in down ballot races. They worry that Walsh’s vulnerabilities could hurt, for instance, Democratic House candidate John Lewis, who has a real shot at winning the seat opening up with GOP Rep. Steve Daines running for Senate.

There’s also fear that Republicans could use Walsh’s weakness to pad their majorities in the state House and Senate. A redrawn legislative map has given Democrats some good pick-up opportunities, and the party has fielded candidates in all 100 House districts and all 25 Senate races.

Walsh’s political problems began two weeks ago when The New York Times reported that he had plagiarized significant portions of a paper to earn his master’s degree in 2007 at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Walsh, a 33-year military veteran who served in combat in Iraq, has apologized for what he called a mistake, and has since noted that he has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his service in war. An investigation launched by the school could further embarrass Walsh if it decides to strip him of his master’s degree or take other punitive actions.

Gov. Steve Bullock, who appointed Walsh to fill the term of Sen. Max Baucus, who resigned to become the U.S. ambassador to China, has not spoken with the appointed senator about staying in the race, according to a person familiar with the situation. The source said Bullock has “no position” on whether Walsh should remain on the November ballot.

With the environment heavily favoring Republicans in Montana, Walsh was always a long shot for the Senate seat in a red state. Even if Walsh steps aside, it’s unclear whether any other candidate would be on a firmer ground against Daines, the GOP’s Senate nominee.

A few names are being mentioned as potential replacements for the state Democrats to pick from: Nancy Keenan, former national president of NARAL Pro-Choice America; EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock; or John Bohlinger, who got 23 percent against Walsh in the June 3 Democratic primary.

Other names mentioned, but which are not taken seriously by top people, are former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has lots of baggage and passed on running last year, as well as Dirk Adams, who has a history in banking that Democratic strategists say makes him unelectable.

Several people said there has been outreach to Keenan, who has expressed scant interest in running, sources said.

Major newspapers in Montana have called on Walsh to drop out.

“Walsh could resign his Senate seat immediately … But if Walsh doesn’t do that, at a minimum, he should drop out of the Senate race,” said a Sunday editorial in the Missoulian. “Indeed, that might be the party’s best hope of getting a Democrat elected, because as it is, Walsh stands very little chance of winning in November.”

The Billings Gazette wrote in its own Sunday editorial that Walsh should stop campaigning and that Bullock should pressure him to do that.

“Haunted by a serious lapse in academic honesty, Walsh is finished as a U.S. Senate candidate,” the paper wrote. “But he should work even more diligently to finish the Senate job he already accepted.”